The Spider Mutant
by The Third Saiyan From Earth
Summary: I'm a big fan of both Spider-Man & X-Men and love it when they feature with each other. I've always liked the idea of Spider-Man being on the team so I figured why not write the story. This story begins fairly recently after Gwen Stacy's death, where through fate, choices and opportunity; Peter Parker finds himself joining the X-Men!
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

Ghosts of Regret

 _He sees the same red mist he sees every time; it creeps out from the darkness and surrounds him. He can feel its suffocating embrace begin to over-take him; it's all too much. And then he sees it, no not it;_ _ **HER.**_

 _She's like an angel sent from heaven, a shining light to give his life and soul what it has always wanted; love. She looks at him, her face a picture of beauty and innocence, and as they embrace he forgets all of the darkness, the pain and the hardship that he has had to struggle with for so long. He holds her close in his arms, because he knows what happens, what always happens, when it gets to this part._

 _The laughter. The sickening, mocking, never-ending laughter. That's what he hears first, and then, as he turns to protect his angel, he sees the face of a demon; a_ _ **GOBLIN**_ _. Green and evil and laughing at him, tormenting him over and over._

 _He looks back, seeking comfort from his angel; but she's not there. He looks up and sees her in the arms of the Goblin, high above the waters. He reaches out with a hand, and grabs hold of a spinning web._

 _'_ _Not again' he thinks. He swings in, his courage burning like a fire, he stands firm and fights the Goblin. The Goblin pushes him back; he needs more strength, so he changes himself, and his Spider to help him._

 _The red mist envelopes him, and he emerges as a warrior in red and blue. He stands facing the Goblin, his angel lying on the ground not far; the Goblin laughs that laugh again._

 _"_ _You're too late Parker! You'll never defeat me, never save your beloved Gwen Stacy. You'll die by my hands!"_

 _The Spider watches him,_ _ **NO.**_

 _"_ _No Osborn, I will save her. I swore to protect her from all the evil in this world, and I'm not about to give up now!"_

 _They charge at each other, holding nothing back, they each fight to destroy the other. With a mighty strike the Spider knocks the Goblin to the ground; he gets up, and realises he can't win._

 _"_ _Very well boy, if I can't beat you, then I shall just destroy you!"_

 _He watches, and with every fibre of his being he hurtles himself forward to stop the Goblin; the evil monster throws down a flaming pumpkin, and as it explodes; he watches his angel fall._

 _"_ _NOOOOOO!"_

 _The Spider is quicker; he fires out a line of webbing, like a hand stretching out to grab his angel and pull her back to him. He watches, and feels himself being pulled back, and as he struggles he knows that it will fail. He tries to reach her himself, and suddenly he can feel his body moving closer._

 _Yes! That's it! Just a little more now, and I can grab her!_

 _He reaches out for her, straining to grab her delicate body. He looks at her face, as he feels the tears stream down his face; she opens her eyes and looks at him._

 _"_ _Peter..."_

The alarm blared away loudly, forcing reality upon him with cruel swiftness and unforgiving mercy. Peter Parker opened his eyes, and with a frustrated yell brought his hand down on the electronic clock, smashing it to pieces. He then rolled onto his back, rubbing his eyes and sighed. The sun stretched in over the horizon, its rays streaking across Peter's face. He turned his head, and looked out onto the emerging day; he did not smile, for anyone who knew Peter Parker knew that these days; he does not smile at all.

Lying in his bead, his mind becoming increasingly alert, Peter's focus shifts from the sun, to the picture on his bedside table next to him; a picture that is both a reminder of a happier time, and of his current sorrow. His eyes start to sting again, and he closes them in an effort to resist seeing her face; the effort ultimately fails.

"Gwen..."


	2. Chapter 2 - Exposed!

Exposed!

Peter starred out onto the buzzing hive of New York City below him. He had to admit; he never got tired of this city. He was web-swinging around, as he wasn't overly fond of taking cabs and had no transport of his own, but he didn't mind; he enjoyed hurling himself around the buildings and structures, his spider-agility allowing him to jump and bend himself through the air with ease.

He hadn't worn the costume for a while; he'd forgotten how much it chafes. And since he hadn't worn it for a while, it still had many holes and tears, which left Peter shivering slightly as the wind hit his body.

Finally he saw his destination, NYCC; New York City College. Peter swung himself down to a rooftop, and found a deserted alley bellow for him to change out of costume. Once he was back in his civvies, he started walking towards the building. As he got closer, he noticed a large crowd with signs shouting at the building. He sighed as he saw the signs; 'NO MORE MUTIES!' 'MUTANT SCUM OUT OF OUR SCHOOLS!'

Peter had no tolerance for people like that; he knew enough about Mutants to know that they weren't bad people; true there were the odd few individuals, who did bad things and had evil intentions, but the way Peter saw it; that was the same for Humanity. Not to mention, he had some pretty close friends who were mutants; the X-men. Apparently there were some new members but he had little time to care about things like that. As Peter entered the building he heard something smash into a window above him; it was an egg. He shook his head and carried on inside.

He stopped off at his locker to pick up his books, leaving his costume and equipment safely locked away. He walked towards his class, then noticed a group of students gathered outside a classroom. His curiosity peaked he tapped a fellow student;

"Hey, what's all excitement?" the student turned to look at Peter,

"There's a famous professor here to talk about genetics, and he's speaking with some mutants!" Intrigued, Peter squeezed his way to the front and peered inside; there weren't many in the class, just under a dozen people, but it was the people there that were causing a commotion; There was a young man who was covered in green scales and had yellow eyes; a young woman with purple hair who was absent-mindedly twirling a pencil in the air, without touching it. At the front was very tall, skinny young man with very pale skin, almost white and, as Peter looked up, his head was touching the ceiling. At the back was a young man playing with a lighter, and with the flame it made, his eyes and hands kept twitching as he watched the professor talk. They weren't all mutants; some of the people were ordinary human beings who just wanted to learn as from the professor as well.

Peter finally focused on the professor and his eyes widened in surprise; it was Professor Charles Xavier, head of the 'Xavier School for the Gifted' and the founder of the X-men. Peter looked at the two people standing beside Professor Xavier; one was a tall young man with brown hair, a serious looking face, and very distinctive red sun-glasses. The other was a very attractive young woman with red hair.

'Scott Summers & Jean Grey aka Cyclops & Marvel Girl; both X-men' Suddenly Jean's eyes twitched, and she looked over at the door, straight at Peter. Peter, at a loss as what to do, smiled. Jean starred at him, and then smiled too. She then motioned for him to come in. Peter thought about it; he had always wanted to get the chance to hear one of Professor Xavier's famous lectures in person. He opened the door and walked inside,

"Excuse me, Professor Xavier, I'm Peter; Peter Parker. I was wondering if I could, uh sit in on your lecture, if that's alright." Charles Xavier looked at Peter, and smiled a warm smile;

"Of course Peter, please take a seat." Peter took a seat close to the front, and listened in with keen interest. As the Professor continued his lecture, Jean looked at Peter again;

'Scott?'

'Yes Jean, what is it?'

'That young man; Peter Parker...'

'What about him?'

'He's Spider-Man!' Scott summers suddenly leaned forward in surprise, he turned to look at Jean; she nodded. Scott looked over at Peter, who suddenly realised he was being watched. Peter looked over at Scott, then at Jean; his eyes suddenly widened as he remember something he'd forgotten; Marvel Girl is a telepath! He looked again at Scott, and, very slowly, put one hand over an eye. Scott coughed nervously and sat back in his chair;

'Uhh Professor; we might have a problem'

'It's alright Scott, I already know about Mister Parker. You can be rest assured he will not betray our secret'. Scott breathed a sigh of relief, and looked over at Peter again; who smiled gave a discreet thumbs up.

As the lecture was reaching an end, something crashed onto one of the windows; another egg. Peter sighed, and then got up to see what was going on. The crowd outside had gotten bigger, but thankfully there were some people who weren't against mutants down there as well. Unfortunately it looked like things were descending into a big argument. There were also still the shouts of "MUTANT SCUM GO HOME!" "NO MUTIE FREAKS WANTED HERE!"

Peter looked over at the professor;

"Maybe it might be best if we got everyone out of here before things get out of hand sir." The Professor smiled a little sadly,

"That's alright Peter, I appreciate the concern but the situation is a lot like this in many places where Mutants go." Suddenly Peter felt a familiar buzzing in his head; he rushed forward grabbing a young blond girl who was sat close to the window.

"Look out!" As they hit the floor, the window shattered as a brick flew through it. Peter looked at the girl to see if she was hurt; she was fine just shaken. Peter strode over to the window, and saw to his horror that things had turned into a riot. There were people attacking each other, arguing, hitting and shouting like madmen. Some were grabbing anything they could, and aiming for the classroom. Peter jumped back as an empty bottle shattered close to him. A man suddenly ran into the classroom,

"Professor I think it'd be best if we got you all out of here right now." The Professor sighed,

"I think you may be right Mister Ganto." The Professor turned towards Scott and Jean, and was making plans when Peter looked out the window, and felt the buzzing again, only this time it was louder; he saw a man in a trench-coat pull out a bottle from his pocket, he then took out a lighter and lit the piece of cloth at the top; a petrol-bomb. Peter's eyes widened as he saw the man drawback his arm;

"DEATH TO ALL MUTANT SCUM!" The man threw the bomb straight at the classroom. Peter jumped and leaped across the room, grabbing the girl and anyone else he could. He only had time to yell;

"BOMB!" before there was a huge explosion. Peter felt dazed, and tried to focus his eyes on what was in front of him. He looked around, the room was on fire; the students in the class were panicking, and then he saw the Professor; he was lying on the floor unconscious, a cut on his forehead. Scott was holding his head in his heads, while he shouted orders to Jean who was trying to hold back the flames with her telekinetic powers. Peter looked around for an exit; the door was blocked by a fallen bookshelf. Peter pushed himself up and leaped over to it; he then started pushing it up and away from the door. Jean and Scott looked over and watched as Peter hefted the bookshelf over his head, and then through it aside with ease. Peter then turned to the students;

"Everyone get out of here! And call the fire department! And the Police, and an Ambulance!" The students sprinted out of the classroom; they didn't need telling twice. Scott looked down at the Professor who was starting to wake up. He helped him into his chair, and then quickly wheeled him out, pausing as he past Peter;

"Thanks man."

"Anytime." Peter looked back, and saw someone was trapped close the flames; it was the girl with purple hair. He ran over to Jean, she was still trying to hold it back;

'You need to get her out of here' Peter blinked and then looked at Jean,

'Telepathic conversation; it saves time. Peter you have to get to her, I can't hold it back for much longer.' Peter nodded, and ran over to the girl. He checked her over, and saw that she was fine, just knocked unconscious. He scooped her up into his arms, and was about to leave when he saw Jean fall to the floor. She looked at him, her eyes filled with horror, suddenly Scott was back at the doorway. Peter looked back, and saw that the flames were charging towards him. He looked at Scott;

"Go! Get her out of here! I've got this!" Scott ran over to Jean and dragged her up, and they both ran out, Jean looking back;

"Peter!" Scott and Jean ran until they were outside the building, both were panting and out of breath. The Professor was being checked over by a paramedic, while fire fighters were running around getting hoses set up. Thankfully the police had turned up and had quickly broken up the riot, and were now pushing everyone back to a safe distance, as well as trying to keep the TV reporters away.

Scott looked back at the classroom; it was now completely ablaze. He looked over at Jean, his face a mask of concern.

"Do you sense anything Jean? Anything at all?" Jean started to reach out with her mind, when she heard a crash from above, and at that everyone turned at looked. Peter Parker, girl still in his arms, jumped through a window, twisted himself round in the air and fired off a strand of webbing from one of his web shooter's, the webbing hit the wall and then Peter swung himself around and then landed on a branch of a tree, he then jumped forward so that he was heading towards the school's wall, jumped off of that and landed gracefully and masterfully onto the grass right in front of the paramedics. He turned to the nearest one;

"Quickly, she's still unconscious and may have inhaled a lot of smoke. The paramedics took her out of Peter's arms and moved her over to an ambulance. Peter sighed, and then realized that **everyone** was looking at him. His shirt had been partially burnt away, exposing his own muscled physique beneath, he was a bit covered in black soot and his lungs felt like they'd had better days but other than that he was fine; not a scratch. Peter looked back at the classroom; it was on the second floor of the building.

He turned back and suddenly camera's started flashing and reporters started charging forward to ask him questions. A group of men towards the back saw everything, and started shouting again;

"He's a mutant! How else could he have done all that! He's a filthy mutant hiding among us!" Peter started to back away, when suddenly he hear someone shout;

"Hey, I know that guy; that's... Parker! Yeah, Peter Parker!" Peter froze stiff; he felt like he couldn't breathe. A few more students stepped forward;

"Yeah, you're right it is him, it's Peter!"

"Peter Parker, who knew?"

"Did you see what he did? Amazing!"

"Peter Parker's a Mutant!"

"That web thingy; like Spider-Man's!"

"Is he Spider-Man?!"

"Spider-Man's a Mutant, of course!"

Peter starred, his mind frozen by surprise and shock. Across the city, the country even, everyone was watching.

 _In the Baxter Building_

Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm starred, open mouthed;

"Johnny, call Stretch and Sue; tell 'em Spider-Man just got outed!"

 _At the Daily Bugle_

Jay-Jonah Jameson stared open-mouthed at the TV screen; around him were Betty Brant and Joe Robinson. They all starred at the TV, no one said a word.

 _In Hell's Kitchen_

Matt Murdock was walking down the street when he heard people shouting and walking over to look at the TV's. He wandered over and asked what was happening;

"Some kid just got outed as being Spider-Man!" Murdock starred in surprise, and looked over at the TV;

'Oh Peter, what have you done...'

 _X-Mansion_

Kurt Wagner, Ororo Monroe, Piotr Rasputin and Logan sat in the lounge of the mansion watching history unfold on the large television. Kurt turned to the others;

"Is it true Strom? Is Spider-Man a Mutant like us?"

"If it isn't Kurt, then Goddess preserve him, for soon the whole world will think so. He will need us all to help him, don't you agree Colossus?"

"Da Storm, the Spider-Man is a good man, and now he has entered a world of new troubles." Logan took a swig of his bear,

"Petey, you got a gift for the understatement. Wall-Crawler's gonna be dropped right in at the deep end" Kurt looked back at the television, his face deep in thought;

"Then meinen Fruenden we will have to help him swim."

 _Aunt-May's house_

She sat very quietly, watching the news unfold in front of her. She didn't speak, nor move, she just sat and watched. She looked at her nephew, who she'd just seen do some amazing things, all to save an innocent person. She couldn't have been prouder.

 _Classified_

"Colonel Sir, we thought you should take a look at this." A large monitor came up, and the image of Peter Parker appeared, with the caption; Mystery Mutant Exposed! Spider-Man?

A man starred closely at the monitor, he stubbed out a cigar.

"Parker. Aw Kid, what did you go and do?"


	3. Chapter 3 - The Only Way Out

The Only Way Out

 _The same red mist creeps in again, but it feels different this time, there's something else there._

 _Peter stares around, hearing the sounds of many voices, bombarding him, trying to overwhelm him. He falls to the ground, hands over his ears, trying to block it out. Then he looks up, and sees it reaching down to help him._

 _The_ _ **Spider**_ _. But it's different, it doesn't look the same as it once did, there's a big X on it's chest. The Spider looks at him, then shows him another, a man all in black and red with a big X on his chest. The Man and the Spider step close to him and then they merge with him. He is now the Spider-X. The Spider, the Mutant and the Parker. They are all him; they are One!_

Peter awoke suddenly, panting deeply before he calmed himself. He reached for a glass of water and drank it all;

'Well, that's new.' He got up, and walked over to the double doors that opened out onto the balcony, he felt the cool night breeze on his skin, and starred out onto the star-filled sky.

His thought's drifted back to the events that brought him to here, and even now he still couldn't quite get over it all.

 _3 Days Ago_

Nightmare. That's what this had to be. All he had to do was will himself to wake up and this would all be over. But Peter Parker knew it was no dream, this was real. He'd just exposed himself to the world; everyone would know his secret.

His whole life was spiraling out of control, and he had no idea what do;

'It'll be alright Peter.' Peter turned, startled, and looked over at Jean Grey, the beautiful redheaded Mutant who'd helped him to save a young Mutant's life, as well as the lives of many others. How ironic, that through an act of courageous heroism, he would now be dooming himself and those around him.

Peter could feel his heart racing away, and he struggled to find his breath;

'Peter, please calm down. You're going to have a panic attack if you don't. Please, I know you're scared, but I promise you this; Me, Scott and the Professor will do everything we can to help you, okay?' Peter nodded slowly, then sat down on the steps of the building to try and calm himself down. He suddenly realised he couldn't hear anything, he looked up; the crowds were still going mad but it was like watching the TV on mute. Peter starred around him,

"What the hell?"

"Don't worry Peter, I just thought you could use some breathing space, and all of that noise wasn't doing you any good." Peter turned, and saw Professor Charles Xavier in front of him. He smiled,

"You did a very brave thing Mister Parker. You risked you life to save myself and many others. I'm only sorry that things have turned out the way they have". Peter smiled,

"That's okay Professor, I knew what I was doing when I had that girl in my arms, I knew what I had to do. I wish I knew what to do now." Peter turned back to look at the crowds, he could hear the sounds faintly now, as if it were far away but getting nearer. The professor moved closer,

"For now, I think the best thing you can do, is join Scott, Jean & myself in the Ambulance. I need stitches for the cut, and yourself, Scott & Jean did inhale an awful lot of smoke, so I insist that you get checked over by a doctor." Peter nodded, and walked over to the Ambulance, pausing briefly to look back at the crowds; they were roaring now, but he didn't care; he just wanted to go. He climbed in after the Professor, joined by Jean & Scott. The Ambulance then started driving off to the Hospital.

* * *

For once, Peter's famous 'Parker Luck' didn't strike; the reporters weren't able to follow the ambulance. He sat on a hospital bed with a doctor and a nurse in front of him, breathing slowly in and out as the doctor listened,

"Well Mister Parker I'd say you're gonna be just fine, just drink plenty of water and take some deep breaths now and again and you should feel back to normal by tomorrow."

"Thanks doc." Peter smiled gratefully, then turned to go, the nurse stopped him,

"Excuse me sir, but you might want something to wear?" Peter paused, and remembered he didn't have a shirt on. He blushed slightly,

"Uhh yeah, thanks. That would be a very good idea." The nurse smiled, and went off to find something. Peter stood around, not quite sure what to do with himself, he looked around and then spotted Scott and Jean talking to doctors. Jean noticed Peter and smiled and waved, Peter waved back. Someone tapped him on the shoulder, he looked round and saw a plain white t-shirt in front of him, as well as the nurse from before,

"Here, no one will miss it." Peter took it gladly, and quickly pulled it on over his head. He smiled at the nurse,

"Thank you." The nurse winked at him,

"Don't mention it." She walked off, leaving Peter with a small grin on his face. He turned around, and walked over towards Scott and Jean, they both got up and smiled at him,

"Docs give you the okay too?" Scott asked. Peter nodded,

"Yeah, said I'll be fine by tomorrow." Jean smiled, and squeezed his arm reassuringly,

"You did an amazing thing today Peter; you should be proud of yourself." Peter smiled,

"It's nothing; it's what I do." He looked over at Scott,

"What **WE** do I should say?" Scott nodded, and outstretched his hand to Peter, Peter took it and shook his hand.

"I'm proud of all of you." They all turned and saw Professor Xavier wheeling himself over, the cut in his head cleaned & stitched up. He smiled warmly at the 3 young adults,

"You all reacted calmly and decisively while facing a very stressful and dangerous situation and you all worked together remarkably well."

"Thanks professor. Is there any word on what happened?" The Professor sighed,

"Some Jean, but not much. According to the Police, the man who threw the petrol-bomb is a suspected 'Friends of Humanity' member. No name, but he's a pretty shady character by all accounts." Scott stepped forward,

"Are the Police going to do anything?" Peter looked at the Professor, and saw his eyes fill with disappointment,

"Unfortunately Scott, the Police don't have many solid leads to follow. As well as that, there are a number of officers who aren't interested in investigating a crime against Mutants." Scott clenched his fist and turned away in frustration, Jean walked over and put her arm around his. Peter turned to the Professor,

"What about the girl I saved, what's gonna happen to her?" The Professor nodded over towards a cubicle with a Police-Officer standing outside it,

"She's fine, she'll be staying here over night just to be on the safe side, but her parents are on their way to the hospital. Apparently they're making plans to move away, out of the city." Peter nodded sadly,

"I wish I could say that running away won't work, but they have to do what's right for their family." Professor Xavier nodded, then turned to look at his students,

"Scott, I had a taxi brought round to the side entrance; you and Jean should take it back to the institute." Jean looked at him puzzled,

"What about you Professor?"

"I'm having Logan bring the car here, and then Mister Parker and I need to have a talk. Don't worry, I shan't be away too long." Scott nodded, and went to grab his Jacket; Jean smiled at Peter, and gave him a hug,

"Thank you Peter, I hope everything works out." Peter hugged her back,

"Thanks Red, I hope so as well. You both take care." She followed Scott, who waved back to them both, before they turned the corner and were gone. Peter looked over at the Professor,

"So, what's the plan Professor?"

"Well, I thought we'd first stop at your Aunt May's house." Peter's eyes went wide, and he groaned slightly,

"Oohh boy." He grabbed his head, hopping for a miracle. Suddenly he heard a commotion outside,

"Sir I'm sorry but you can't smoke inside a hospital!"

"Darlin', I don't put out my cigars unless it's real important. I'm just here to pick up a friend and then I'll be gone, real quick." Professor Xavier sighed, and rolled towards the doors,

"Logan, enough. Put out the Cigar, bring the car round and we'll get going." Logan smiled, and gave a small salute,

"Whatever you say Chuck!" Logan paused when he noticed Peter standing there looking at him,

"Hey, aint that the kid from the news?"

"Logan, this is Peter Parker, Peter this is Logan." Peter walked forward nervously, and gave an outstretched hand, Logan sniffed, then shook the hand,

"How ya doing kid?" Peter nodded a little, Logan grunted, then walked off towards the car. Peter looked at the Professor,

"I think I just saw the wild man himself." Professor Xavier chuckled,

"Don't mind Logan, he just takes some getting used to."

* * *

May Parker was doing her best not to panic. She'd seen that Peter had gotten into the Ambulance, but he looked fine so she told herself that she shouldn't worry. She trusted Peter, and knew that he could look after himself. But try as she might, she couldn't stop herself from worrying about him. Just as she got up to try calling his apartment again, there was a knock at the door. She turned around, and saw it was Peter standing there. She dropped everything in her hands, and ran over to him; Peter stepped forward into the hug, holding her close,

"Oh Peter, thank the lord. I've trying to call you and call you but there was no answer. I thought about trying the hospital but I didn't know which one you were at."

"It's alright Aunt May, I'm fine, really; the doctors gave me a look-over and I'm fine." May Parker sighed in relief, and then realised someone was behind Peter,

"And who is this?" The man rolled himself forward and extended his hand,

"Mrs Parker, my name is Professor Charles Xavier; I'm one of the people your nephew helped rescue from the blaze. I was wondering if I might come in." May smiled, she could feel by instinct that this man was a good, honest man,

"Of course, please do." Charles smiled, and wheeled himself in and over to the lounge, followed by May and Peter.

"I wanted to talk to about the events of the day Mrs Parker."

"Of course, and please call me May."

"Then I insist you call me Charles." Peter & May sat down on the sofa,

"First May I should like to ask you a question, how long have you been aware of Peter's abilities?" Peter looked at his aunt, stunned. May smiled,

"For some time now, although I did not know that he was Spider-Man." Peter was floored, he didn't know what to think. May put her hand on Peter's,

"It's alright Peter. You weren't as careful as you thought you were, sometimes I'd see you climbing up a wall or leaping across the room or bending a steel bar back into shape. Just little things that you happened to do when you thought no one was watching. At first I was shocked, but then I started reading about Mutations in people. In fact..." She went over to a dresser, and pulled out a book; 'The Truths about Genetics' by Professor Charles Xavier. Charles smiled,

"Thank you May, I've often wondered if people were still interested in my books."

"Oh no, it was fascinating. Of course I couldn't understand everything, but it helped me to understand Peter and what he was doing even better. And then of course, there was today's excitement." She looked over at Peter and smiled,

"Peter, look at me." Peter looked up,

"I'm so proud of you, today even more than before. You risked your life, and your personal freedom to save an innocent girl from death. That girl, and her family, will owe you everything because you kept her safe. And I know your Uncle Ben would be very proud of you as well." Peter smiled, his eyes misting with tears, he rubbed them away and got up and hugged his aunt.

Peter then looked over at the Professor,

"What do I do now though? Everyone will have seen what I can do, some people there put things together; what can I do?" Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and a man, tall and well built in his mid-fifties wearing a black over-coat and a grey suit. He was smoking a cigar and had an eye patch over his left eye,

"Kid, I might just be able to help you out." Peter turned, and was completely surprised,

"Colonel Fury?!" Fury grunted, then nodded at the Professor,

"Charles."

"Nice to see you again Nicholas." He looked at May Parker,

"Hello May, I'm sure you can guess what this is about." Peter looked at his aunt; how did she know the world's top cop? May sighed, and stepped forward,

"Peter, Colonel Fury is the one who told me & Ben about your Parents deaths." Peter looked at Fury,

"You? But why, why you I mean?" Fury sat down on a chair,

"Because kid; we worked together. You're parents were top agents in the CIA, and I was working with them on a mission. We were tracking Hydra members who'd created a number of super-weapons; giant walking tanks that could decimate entire cities, so naturally our job was to find em and destroy em. Everything was pretty smooth, and we finished the mission and we all thought that was it; case closed. Except now I need your help Parker. You're parents were the only ones who knew about where these weapons were hidden, and apparently Hydra kept a few of those weapons hidden away. I think your folks had some leads as to where they might be, that plus our own gives us some very good chances, but it's you I need Parker." Peter starred,

"Me, why me?"

"Because the weapons, when we tracked em to a factory your father tricked them into accepting his DNA and face as a security lock-down for them; they can't function unless you've got his DNA & his face to be scanned. But, if you've only got one of these, then that's enough to activate the signal and get them to show up on radar. Then, all those clever bastards at Hydra have to do is track 'em down, reprogram them and they're all theirs." Peter stopped him,

"Wait, they'd need my father's DNA you said. Or... my own." Fury nodded,

"Which, according to Intel I got, they have, and they're planning on doing everything I just said. And I'm not gonna let that happen." He stood up, and walked over to Peter,

"Peter Parker; you're country, the world needs your help; because you're the only one who can save it. What do you say?" Peter looked around, at the Professor, and at his Aunt,

"I can't just run off now, what about what I did today."

"Kid I know all about that, and I think me and the Professor here have come up with a plan that can save you. And trust me; it's the only one we've come up with." Peter looked over at the Professor,

"Well Peter, since the a lot of people right now think that you are a Mutant, the best place, the safest place for you, right now; is at my institute in Westchester." Peter walked over to him,

"Okay, but strictly speaking I'm not a normal Mutant."

"I know that Peter, but I still think it's the best place for you to be. I've always been fascinated by your abilities, and your work as Spider-Man; and I believe that at the Institute you can learn and become even more of a force for good than before. So, come to the institute. But as Colonel Fury said; he needs you. So..."

"Kid, you'd move in there, and then a couple of days later you're with me; tracking down the sites, there's on a handful, and once that's down you go back to Xavier's."

"Peter, I'm asking you to join me in helping Mutants and Humanity. Will you accept?" Peter thought long and hard; he thought about today with the protestors, the riot and the petrol-bomb. He thought about the girl, no younger than himself, fleeing the city with her family because she was born different. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right. He'd always told himself, promised that he'd live by his Uncle Ben's philosophy; 'With Great Power, comes Great Responsibility'. He had the power to change things, to make things better; it was his duty to do so; his **Responsibility**. He turned to Colonel Fury and the Professor,

"I accept". Colonel Fury grunted, nodded at Peter, then walked out the door,

"I'll contact you in a few days Parker, be ready." Peter looked over at the Professor and his Aunt; they both had a look of pride on their faces.

"Thank you Peter."

"It's like you said Professor, it's the only way." He held his aunt's hand, and looked at them both, his face set in fierce determination.

From outside the house, Logan sat against the car watching events unfold, he took out his cigar,

"Welcome to the X-men, web-head."


	4. Chapter 4 - Big Spider on Mutant Campus

Big Spider on Mutant Campus

Peter stood in the lounge of his Aunt May's house, shaking hands with America's top cop/spy; he never imagined his day would turn out quite like this.

'Joining SHIELD' even as the thought percolated about his brain, he still couldn't quite believe that this was happening. He looked at his Aunt May; she might have looked like a frail old woman, but she was a tower of strength and courage. Peter turned back to Nick Fury,

"Listen Colonel, if I do this; I'm going to need some assurances. The first and biggest one being that I need you to guarantee my Aunt stays safe." Fury nodded,

"Way ahead of you Parker, which is why, if it's alright with you May, I asked an old friend to help out." Fury turned around, and with a gesture from his hand, a tall man walked in. He had short greying hair and a thick, white moustache. He was tall, and despite his obvious age, he looked very fit and well. The man saluted at Fury, then turned and smiled at May,

"Hello May" May gasped, then smiled happily,

"Keane? Keane Marlow? Is that really you?"

"It's me alright May, you can't keep an old war horse like me down." May laughed, and walked over to the old man, taking his hand in her's.

"It's so good to see you again Keane; it's been such a long time." Keane smiled, then looked over at a very much bewildered Peter,

"Good look May, he looks so much like Richard it's remarkable." Peter smiled a little uneasily,

"Excuse me sir, but who are you exactly?" May smiled,

"Peter, I'd like you to meet Mister Keane Marlow, Agent of the CIA and the man who taught your parents everything they knew" Keane smiled at Peter,

"Formally of the CIA, I retired some time ago; haven't got the energy to go running around like all those young adventurers any more. Did enough of that in the War, didn't I Nick?"

"There's still some like left in you yet Keane. You see Peter, I asked Keane here because I felt that if we were going to protect your Aunt, then it'd be better that she have someone guarding her that she trusts." Peter nodded his understanding; he looked over at May, who seemed very happy to see her old friend,

"Alright Fury I'm convinced, but what about my situation with the media, I mean I can't just disappear for god-knows how long with all this attention on me."

"First, most of the attention is just speculation, which is why no reporters have gone off hounding you for answers; as far as the world is concerned you've been outed as a Mutant. Okay, so maybe you are, doesn't make national news. The Spider-Man of it all; well lets say I asked a friend of yours to take care of things.

 _Daily Bugle_

A well dressed man walked along a corridor in one of New York's biggest papers. He walked along until he found the office he was looking for; he knew he was in the right place as soon as he got there though; he could tell by all the shouting.

"WHERE THE DEVIL'S PARKER GOT TO?!"

"I don't know Jonah; the boy's probably taking some time to sort himself out. His whole world's been turned upside down."

"I DON'T CARE IF HE'S WALKING ON THE MOON ROBBIE, I'VE GOT QUESTIONS FOR THAT KID, AND HE'D DAMN WELL BETTER ANSWER THEM!" Joe Robinson sighed, and sat back down in the chair. J. Jonah Jameson was probably his best friend; he was also his biggest headache,

"Jonah, you don't know for certain..."

"Oh I know Robbie; you can trust me I know. Parker knows who Spider-Man is, or at the very least knows where he's gone. And as soon as I get my hands on that little runt he's going to tell me. I don't care if he has just been outed as a Mutant. Lousy bum hasn't been in here for months, hasn't given me a single photo of Spider-Man, not since the Goblin."

"Have some heart Jonah, his girlfriend was murdered by the Goblin." Jameson softened slightly, then sat down in his chair,

"I'm not saying I don't feel for the kid Robbie; of course I do. It's a terrible thing for a young man to go through, but he owes me, and I mean to collect." There was a knock at the door,

"Come in!" the well-dressed man walked in,

"Hello Jonah, been a while." Jameson gritted his teeth, nearly biting through the Cigar in his mouth,

"What do you want Murdock?" Matt Murdock smiled, and took out a document from his briefcase,

"I was asked to deliver these to you Jonah; I need you to sign them." Jameson took the papers, and started reading, almost immediately he spluttered,

"WHAT!? WHAT THE DEVIL IS THIS?"

"It's a formal request telling you that Peter Parker is now involved in something that is top-secret, and that his employment with you is, for the time being at least; terminated."

"HE QUIT!"

"Mister Parker has far greater responsibilities than to you and your paper Jonah." Jameson growled, and went back to reading,

"What's this; I can't print anything in relation to what happened at NYCC today as it may be relevant to... NATIONAL SECURITY?!" Robbie took the document, and read it himself,

"Matt, what's going on? Where's Peter?" Matt looked over at Robbie and sighed,

"I'm sorry Robbie, but as of now, he's a national security issue. You, me and Jonah can't discuss where he is, or where he's gone." Jameson jumped up, slamming his fist down onto his desk,

"Just who gave you this Murdock? Who's in charge of this whole cloak and dagger game?" Murdock smiled, and turned to leave,

"He signed it at the bottom Jonah, make sure you post those documents; signed and sealed to my office by the end of today." And with that he left, Jonah looked down at the Papers, and scrolled his eyes down to the bottom; they nearly bulged out of his head when he saw the name, he sat down back in his chair, defeated; Robbie picked up the papers and looked at the name himself,

"Colonel Nick Fury!" Jameson nodded quietly; he sighed, and then scratched his head. Robbie turned the Paper around, and saw something he knew Jameson wasn't going to like,

"Uhh Jonah, you might wanna read this bit. I'll see you later." He hurried out of the office, and was down the other side of the hall when he heard,

"WHAT?! SPIDER-MAN IS OFF LIMITS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE?!"

Matt Murdock smiled to himself as he left the Daily Bugle building,

'Good Luck Peter'.

 _Peter Parker's Apartment_

Peter walked up the stairs to his apartment; technically it wasn't his but it'd been paid for by... a friend. He'd been living alone now for a while, and while he'd gotten used to the place; it wasn't really what he'd call home. In fact, as he moved about grabbing what he wanted to take with him as he moved out; there was hardly anything he that was his. It'd been furnished by his old roommate, but that had never bothered Peter, and since he'd never been particularly free in the cash department, his room for the most part was rather modest; modest was too kind really, his room was practically Spartan. He'd gotten rid of a lot of things when Gwen... he'd need to put it all away. It left him with very little, but he didn't care.

He didn't know what he'd think of his new accommodation's until he moved in; but it had always seemed like a nice place. The move would perhaps do him some good. As he reached his door he stopped, and sighed,

"On second thoughts, the move will definitely be very good." On the door, spray-painted in big, messy red writing was the words;

'MUTIE SCUM' Peter sighed, and went inside.

He grabbed a few books off of his shelves, just the ones he liked most, and packed them away into a box. He looked around his room, and noticed some photographs on a table, he walked over and picked them up; he smiled, and packed them away too.

He suddenly remembered something, and walked over to his wardrobe, and feeling his way about the bottom, took out a false panel he'd put it; in this small space he'd put the various chemicals and spare parts he had so he could rebuild his web-shooters. He'd lost them, and his costume in the fire, which struck him as ironic as he remembered all the times he'd torn, ripped, singed, burnt and soaked it over the years, and then for months he hadn't worn it, then; the first time he put it back on, it gets incinerated.

'Oh well, I can always make another.'

He placed the equipment inside the box, then, checking around his room one last time; he sealed it up, and carried it downstairs. Outside, Professor Xavier and Logan were waiting for him,

"Ahh Peter, do you need a hand at all?" Peter shook his head,

"It's just this box; I don't really have much in the way of things." Xavier nodded, and turned back towards the car; Peter moved round to the rear and placed his things inside. He then walked round and got in the back with the Professor. He took one last look at the apartment; it might not have been home, but it held a lot of memories, he turned to the Professor,

"Actually Professor, if it's alright, there's something I have to do before we go on to Westchester, someone I have to see."

 _Raven-croft Psychiatric Hospital_

Peter stood outside the hospital; he was never overly fond of hospitals, but this place; well it just gave him the creeps. But he knew that, if someone needed help, this was the place to take them. Which is why **HE** was here. A young woman with short brown hair and glasses walked out of the main doors over to Peter,

"You can come in now Peter."

"Thank you Doctor Kafka." Peter followed the Doctor inside. Doctor Ashley Kafka was a renowned psychiatrist, both to members of the public and even criminals. She had a gift, a natural talent for helping people, and Peter knew she was the one person who could do anything that might help...

They passed various patients rooms until they came to an outdoors area; it wasn't very large but big enough for the patients to relax, and it was filled flowers and small ponds. She nodded over to a man sat on a bench looking at a tree and pond,

"He's over there." Peter looked, his desire to run away just as strong as his desire to be there for his friend,

"How is he doing?" Ashley looked over at him as well,

"He has good days and bad days. Recently there have been more good ones than bad ones, so we shall have to see. He mentions his friends; Liz Allen, Flash Thompson and Mary Jane has been to visit a couple of times, he always enjoys seeing her. Do you know if she might be visiting too?" Peter shook his head,

"She's off in Paris, big modelling career's taking off, but I'm sure she'll visit when she gets back. Listen Doc, I... I'm moving away, and I know this place is free, but I feel like I owe you something..." Ashley raised her hands to stop him,

"Peter, please don't. I know you feel like this is your fault, and that you're to blame for his condition, but it isn't so. You've done right by him, I assure you. And as for thanks; getting him better will be all the thanks I need. Now go on, talk to him." Peter let out a long sigh, then walked through the doors. He slowly strolled over to the bench, and stopped just behind the man,

"Harry? It's me; Peter." Harry didn't move, he just continued staring straight ahead. Peter moved round and sat down on the bench next to him,

"How are you doing buddy? You look well." Harry smiled, then looked over at Peter,

"Hello Pete." Peter smiled,

"Hi Harry. How are things?" Harry mused,

"Not too bad. The food's not so great, but Ashley's nice and she helps me a lot. Still have the nightmares sometimes, but they're not so bad." Peter nodded, the pain and sadness he could feel tugging on his heart like an iron chain. He cleared his throat,

"Harry I've got something I need to tell you." Harry smiled calmly,

"Okay." Peter smiled a little,

"I've got to go away for a while, and I'm not sure when I'll be back. I just wanted you to know, okay bud?" Harry seemed to pause, the information going into his mind; he then slowly nodded and turned his attention back towards the tree,

"Can you see the tree Peter? It's so simple, yet elegant and strong. Reminds me of my Father; he was a simple man at heart, but he had a fierce mind and a strong nature that made him what he was." Peter said nothing, just listened quietly,

"In my dreams, I see him. I see him and he comes and then everything is better. But then..." Harry's voice seemed to drift away, and his eyes glazed over. It was as if he was on pause, before suddenly he came out of it, only something had changed, his eyes; they were darker. He looked at Peter, smiling a little,

"But then, I remember seeing him die. I remember seeing the glider fly through the air, the blades on its front piercing his chest and nailing him to the wall." Peter felt his stomach drop, and started to move but felt Harry's hand grab his arm; the grip was like a steel iron. He looked up into Harry's eyes, one of them was his normal blue, and the other was a dark, sickly **GREEN**.

"I look over at the tree and I see the Goblin looking back. He's looking at you, he's looking right at you and he's laughing Peter. He's laughing at you... **SPIDER-MAN**." Peter felt cold and pulled away from Harry,

"I remember you Spider, in my dreams. I remember the day we fought; you tried so hard not to hurt me. But I tried to kill you, and I will always keep trying. I'll go on trying until I succeed, until the day I make my Goblin father proud, and kill you with my own hands. Just like he did to..." Harry froze again, as his eyes glazed once more, his eyes went back to blue, and he sagged. He looked up at Peter,

"I have good days, and bad days Peter. They can't give me pills, no pills. But I'm getting better, aren't I Peter. Aren't I?" Peter looked at Harry Osborn; his best friend. It was all he could do just to nod silently, Harry's face suddenly changed to a smile, and he went back to looking at the tree calmly,

"I know it's still in my system, I know what I put in there is still there. It's just got to burn itself out, and once it's gone, I'll be me again." Peter nodded, he got up, and as he went to go, he put a hand on Harry's shoulder,

"Be strong Harry. I'll see you around Pal." Harry didn't acknowledge him, he just kept looking at the tree. Peter sighed a little, and then went away; behind him Harry smiled.

Peter paused outside the entrance, trying to catch his breath. He stared up at the sky,

'This is **YOUR** legacy Norman. You turned yourself into a Monster, and then you turned your own son into one as well. He is so much better than you, and all he ever wanted was your respect and love. But you never gave it to him did you. No, you had to be the king of the capitalists; mister big time businessman. You abandoned him, chased after money and left him alone. And in doing so he turned to drugs, virtually destroying his own body, as well as his mind. And then... then he had to watch you die before his eyes. Right after you took my Gwen away from me.' Peter could feel the tears of frustration flowing down his face, he ran towards a building and leapt up to the roof. He sat on a wall and looked out over the city,

"And even when you'd abandoned him, he never abandoned you. He took off the Green Goblin outfit from your corpse, to save your reputation. And then, then came the worst of it all; barely a couple of months later and I discovered that Harry had turned himself into you; into the Green Goblin! I had to fight him, stop him from destroying us both. And that is the result of your Goblin serum; his mind almost destroyed. I hope you can hear me down there Norman, I hope you suffer knowing what you did to Harry; what **WE** did." He wiped away his tears, and slowly crawled down towards the car.

Logan sat leaning against the hood of the car smoking a cigar,

"Is the kid alright Chuck?" The Professor opened his eyes,

"Yes, he's fine now. Seeing the state of his friend greatly upset him, but that young man has depths of strength like I've never seen. He'll be a great addition to the school, and to the team." Logan grunted, then noticed Peter walking over towards them,

"Ready to go Kid?" Peter looked back for a moment, and then turned to look at Logan and the Professor,

"I'm ready, let's get going."

 _Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters_

Peter starred out at the impressive and imposing building that was the school; his first thought was that it was very big; no it was huge! As they made their way inside, Peter had to marvel at the elegant decor.

His attention was suddenly drawn to the people who were in front of him; a tall, well-built young man who looked like he could break Peter in half. Beside him was a beautiful young woman, with dark ebony skin and shinning blue eyes that Peter had to admit mesmerized him. A little off from them was a middle-aged man with thick, blond hair and a bright green jumper on with his arm around the shoulders of a woman with dark reddish-brown hair.

As Peter smiled nervously at them all, he finally noticed some familiar faces,

"Jean! Scott!" He walked over and smiled at them warmly, shaking Scott's hand and giving Jean a hug. Jean smiled,

"Good to see you Peter."

"Thanks Jean, nice to see you both as well." Scott stepped forward,

"We're also glad to hear that you accepted the Professor's offer too." Peter nodded, and as he turned there was sudden whoosh in front of him, followed by a rush of smoke and the smell of brimstone. Peter jumped back in surprise, back-flipping and landing on a wall, he tensed his body in readiness, his eyes taking in the sight of a blue-skinned devil with 3 fingers and toes and a tail. The devil turned around and he smiled, scratching his head embarrassedly,

"Woops, sorry mein fruende; I did not mean to frighten you so." Peter un-tensed, and jumped down from off the wall. He walked over towards the blue-devil,

"Maybe you should wear a bell, uhh..."

"Kurt Wagner; sie incredible Nightcrawler." Peter smiled a little, and shook the outstretched hand,

"Nice to meet you Kurt; Peter Parker." Kurt smiled warmly,

"Let me introduce you to everyone else; the goddess over there is the lovely Ororo Monroe, otherwise known as Storm. The Russian gentle giant is Piotr Rasputin, aka Colossus. The blond Irishman is Sean Cassidy, so named the Banshee and the lovely lady he's got his arm around is our housekeeper Moira MacTaggert." Peter nodded at every one of them, before smiling nervously. He turned towards the Professor, who moved around to address everyone present,

"Well everyone, we have a new student to welcome to our school. He is already well-trained as a solo superhero, and I know all of you have at least heard of his exploits. Kurt, if you wouldn't mind showing Peter to his new room, I'm sure he'd like to get settled in." Kurt nodded,

"Of course. Follow me Peter Parker, let us see if you can keep up." Kurt leaped off, teleporting towards a wall, which he landed on then jumped up towards the stairs. Peter smiled a small, confident smile, and then ran after him, jumping and front-flipping himself with amazing agility, touching the wall with one foot, and springing away up the stairs after Kurt. The others laughed a little as they watched, and then quietly dispersed leaving just Storm, Colossus and the Professor. He turned towards his students,

"He won't be with us for very long I'm afraid, Mister Parker has a mission to undertake; something of grave importance. However he will be returning once it is complete, so for as long as he is here for now, we shall do our very best to welcome him to the X-men."

 _The following Day_

Peter sat quietly in the mansion's kitchen, sipping away at a cup of coffee; he looked out over the school grounds, the morning sun slowly rising in the sky.

It was... peaceful. Something he'd never really gotten used to in his life; then again 'peaceful' didn't really happen much so when it did, he found it unfamiliar territory.

"You're up early." Peter turned, broken out of his revere; he saw Logan stood in the door-way,

"Yeah... I haven't gotten used to not hearing the noises of the city yet. It's gonna take me a while to adjust; that and well... I don't sleep well, not for a while." Logan walked over to a counter and poured himself a cup, then went and grabbed a chair, and sat down, opening out a newspaper. He sipped it, enjoying its sensations before looking at Peter,

"Bad dreams?" Peter paused, then nodded a little,

"Bad dreams... and bad memories, all sleeping does is remind of it all, and I definitely don't need that." Logan didn't say anything, and went back to reading the paper. Peter went back to his gazing, but his mind had drifted back to something else; to Gwen. He tensed, and the cup handle broke in his hands, and then dropped to the floor, shattering and spilling its remaining contents. Peter groaned with frustration, Logan didn't look up, save for sipping his coffee,

"There's a mop in a closet web-head." Peter rubbed his eyes, then walked over to the closet, grabbed the mop and set about cleaning up. When he was done, he sat down at the table; Logan paused then looked at him,

"Who was she kid?" Peter stared at him in surprise, then slowly relaxed,

"Her name was Gwen... Gwen Stacy. She was... we were in love." Logan sat there, silent; he then sighed deeply and then got up. As he passed Peter, he gave him a pat of the shoulder; neither of them said a word.

Peter sat there, lost in memories. He looked down at his own hands, and then felt something wet hit his fingers; it was a tear. He wiped his eyes dry, just as Storm walked in,

"Good morning Peter."

"Morning Storm, want some coffee?" Storm smiled but shook her head,

"No thank you, just water for me." She paused and looked again at Peter,

"Are you alright Peter?" Peter smiled, and nodded, he then walked out. Storm watched him go, her face wearing an expression of curiosity.

 _The Danger-Room_

Peter looked around the large, impressive, sleek looking room. He was wearing a simple white vest and gray sweatpants; dressed for a heavy physical workout. If he hadn't heard about the training room before-hand, Peter would've thought it all very un-necessary.

The Professor's voice crackled over a speaker;

"Okay then Peter, this is a basic training program, nothing too complicated, but it'll increase in difficulty as you advance through the stages. If you get hurt the whole system will shut down at once." Peter flinched; he hadn't wanted to hear that,

"Are you ready?" Peter nodded, and started moving cautiously across the room. Almost at once he felt a familiar buzzing in his head; he leapt forward, missing a swinging metal hammer. He rolled and then jumped towards the side of the wall as the floor opened suddenly to reveal a pit. He took a moment to catch his breath when he noticed a large cannon pointing at him,

"Oh come on! That's not fair!" The cannon fired a net, which missed Peter as he somersaulted away, grabbing onto a giant swinging axe. He jumped forward again, landing on the floor just as a large, multi-armed robot appeared. The robot's red eyes focused on Peter, and one of its arms shifted and became a large, double-ended mallet.

"I take it you're really trying to hammer home the whole 'Danger' thing huh?" The robot swung down and Peter back-flipped away. He watched the robot carefully as another armed shifted and up came a large axe, Peter stepped back,

"No sense of humour some people." He tensed, then ran straight at the robot, jumping over its arm as it swung at him, he grabbed on to the arm and swung himself around until he was standing on it, he then wrenched it off, the robot looked at where it's arm used to be, and then at the Peter as he swung the axe around and cut off its head.

The robot froze, then buckled and toppled over. Peter jumped back, and landed gracefully on the floor. He threw the axe down, and breathed.

"Well I survived that." Suddenly his spider-sense went off, he turned and just managed to notice an even larger robot now standing before him when it swung an even larger hammer and knocked him through the air, clean across the danger room.

Peter curled into a ball; the wind being completely knocked out of him. He gasped for air, and then noticed the second robot stomping over to him.

He looked at the very large, very sharp blade that was raised above the robot's head, and then suddenly his eyes caught a glimpse of several hanging pipes between the body and the arm. He smiled a confident smile, and then just as the arm started swinging down, he sprinted forward, leaping and running up the arm, sliding himself around and grabbing onto the pipes, he tugged at them and they came free. He then swung himself around and kicked the robot square in the head, toppling the robot back, and separating the arm from the shoulder. Peter rolled off of the robot, exhausted. The Speakers crackled again,

"Are you alright Peter?" He was led on his back; he then raised one arm up, and then gave thumbs up. Professor Xavier smiled,

"Logan if you wouldn't mind, I think mister Parker could use a hand getting to the infirmary." Logan nodded in agreement, then walked out of the room.

 _The Infirmary_

Peter was lying on a metal bed trying to ignore the cold and the feeling of self-consciousness as Professor Xavier and Doctor Moira MacTaggert poked, prodded and examined him,

"So Doc, what's the prognosis?" Moira smiled warmly, and walked over,

"Peter, I'd say you are a very healthy, very strong young man. In fact; I've never seen DNA like yours before."

Peter sat up, slightly unnerved;

"Is that a good thing or bad?" Professor Xavier smiled,

"Moira is just given over to scientific curiosity Peter. She's well aware of Mutants and Genetics, but your powers and how you got them is still very fascinating." Peter nodded slowly, then smiled.

"Well that's good and all but... can I put my shirt back on now?" Xavier laughed,

"Of course, I think we're done here for today any road. The others are upstairs preparing dinner, why don't you go join them."

At the mention of food, Peter suddenly remembered how hungry he was, he jumped off the bed, grabbed his shirt and ran up the stairs to the kitchens.

"He seems to be adjusting very well Charles."

"Yes. I think he'll like living here. I only wish I had more time to prepare him before he goes on his mission. But, I have complete faith that if anyone could save the world; he can do it. He has more strength inside of him than he yet realizes."


End file.
